Oil is Causing Turmoil

This summer, temperatures will not be rising alone: gas prices are expected to reach new highs.  And, as if these brutally high prices haven’t hurt our wallets enough, things seem as though they’ll only get worse. 

Despite faring better than other states in the battle against increasing prices, the omniscient rumors of increased prices are still expected to have a large impact on us in Massachusetts. With talk of prices ending up at over five dollars per gallon, it only adds to the list of things we have to worry about on our already slim budget. Personally, I can attest that I have had to strongly consider where my money is going each week, a thought almost every American has to grapple with during these tough times.  Unbelievably, this time last year, the average price of gas per gallon in Massachusetts was $3.56.  Today, the average has reached $3.79 per gallon. That is a whopping 23 cent increase in just one year, which isn’t exactly pocket change for us drivers.

This past Thursday, President Obama admitted that Americans are getting hit twice over gas prices — at the pump and with tax subsidies.  However, we already know that we are paying way too much for gas.  Ultimately, the turmoil in the Middle East is the prime culprit of the drastic price increases and we can’t expect to see much improvement without many of the issues being settled overseas.

This may be a red flag that this country needs to stop its heavy reliance on foreign aid for running our country.  Being strongly dependant on the Middle East for our oil, a mineral that we rely on more than we realize, we can’t help but become affected by any chaos that erupts outside of the walls of our nation. This cause-and-effect lands us with problems such as the absurd prices of gas we are confronting, as well as an alarming sense of fear brought about by the violence and tension that stems from within the Middle East. Our addiction to foreign oil needs to finally come to an end if we are ever going to free ourselves from their negative impacts.

Many would argue that our dependency on foreign oil is what brought us to war with the Middle East in the first place; while many others will counter such a statement by saying it was the unforgettable terrorist attacks of 2001 that drove us into the fight. Without being able to say for sure what the true cause was (likely a combination of both), it can be said with certainty that our relationship with the Middle East seems to cause more damage to this country than good. Instead of relying on the gas-guzzling vehicles most of us in this country feed off of, perhaps we could begin a more-serious process of converting to electric cars.  After all, they are a cleaner alternative that would not constrain us to an unstable country overseas. With so many alternatives to fuel available currently, along with a great deal of more beneficial sources just on the horizon of invention, we have to wonder: is it time we cut ties with the outdated and destructive ways of fuel with the Middle East once and for all?